This light and fluffy carrot cake with cream cheese frosting recipe is delicious, extremely easy to make and keeps fresh for five days in the refrigerator.
Sift 250 grams plain flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1/2 tsp Shetland sea salt and 2 tsp mixed spice into a mixing bowl.
Add 200 grams light brown soft sugar and mix well. Add the zest of 1 orange and squeeze the juice into a small bowl.
Grate 300 grams carrots with the large-holed side of a box grater so that you have 250 grams of grated carrot.
Measure 200 ml vegetable oil into a measuring jug and crack in 3 large free-range eggs. Add the orange juice and whisk with a fork.
Chop 100 grams walnuts, reserving about 20 grams for decorating the top of the cake afterwards.
Pour the oil mixture into the dry ingredients and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.
Add most of the walnuts, the grated carrots and 85 grams raisins.
Stir until evenly mixed, but do not overmix.
Divide the batter evenly between your two lined cake tins, using electronic kitchen scales to weigh them to make sure they're the same.
Bake in the centre of your oven for 30 - 35 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean and the tops of the cakes are golden and risen. Alternatively, the internal temperature will be just under 100°C when cooked.
Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before removing from the tin and leaving to cool to room temperature on a cooling rack.
Meanwhile, using an electric hand mixer, cream 100 grams butter until very soft, almost liquid. My hand mixer has a HeatSoft function, which gently softens the butter if I forget to take it out of the fridge first to soften it at room temperature.
Gently fold in 280 grams cream cheese.
Add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 100 grams icing sugar and gently combine. Do not overmix once the sugar is in.
Place one of the cooled cakes onto a cake stand or onto the inside lid of a large cake storage tin. Spread half of the cream cheese frosting, top with the other cake and finish with the remaining frosting. Sprinkle with the remaining walnuts and chill until needed.